Testing investigation: Six conservative legislators are calling on the Florida Department of Education to investigate whether three school districts deliberately limited the number of low-performing 7th-graders taking the state end-of-course civics exam in order to earn better school grades from the state. Sen. Dennis Baxley and Reps. Jason Fischer, Michael Bileca, James Grant, Bob Rommel and Jennifer Sullivan, all Republicans, and the Florida Coalition of School Board Members suggest that the Duval, Manatee and Polk districts limited the number of struggling students taking the test in order to boost the grades of schools and keep charter schools from moving in under the Schools of Hope law. District officials say they are simply having many of the struggling students take the test as 8th-graders, when they might be better prepared, which state law allows them to do. Gradebook. redefinED.
School security: A school safety agreement is reached between the Sarasota County School Board and Sheriff Tom Knight. The district will pay 80 percent and the sheriff 20 percent of the $1.6 million for 11 deputies to cover 10 schools, plus a lieutenant and two sergeants. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. More than 100 people have applied to become armed guardians to protect Manatee County schools. Most have law enforcement or military backgrounds, officials say. About 40 will be hired. Bradenton Herald. The city of Clermont agrees to provide resource officers for three elementary schools and a K-8 charter school. The Lake County School District will pay the city $279,653 for the officers, and a one-time fee of $211,280 for equipment, including new police cars. Daily Commercial. A coalition of law enforcement groups is looking at ways to make schools safer. The initiative is led by Max Schachter, whose son Alex died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Feb. 14. Schachter's group, Safe Schools for Alex Foundation, organized the meeting of the eight groups after he discovered there is no nationally recognized list of recommendations to improve school security. Sun-Sentinel. As individual districts work to meet the state mandate for an armed guard in every school, the Florida Department of Education is working to finish setting up its Office of Safe Schools to coordinate the security efforts. Damien Kelly, formerly a public corruption inspector for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is its director. WFSU. (more…)
Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville
Editor’s note: This profile is part of a series on Florida legislators who help shape education issues. See previous entries here, here and here.
Jason Fischer got involved in local school board politics when he and his wife observed the lack of a variety of school options for their children in Duval County.
“We were disappointed about the (performance) of the school system and its future and started getting involved in education,” said Fischer in an interview.
Fischer, now a member of the state House of Representatives, met with other parents and students struggling in the school system. He began to eye a run for the Duval County School Board, where he won a seat in 2012.
Duval County shares its borders with the city of Jacksonville, Fla. It's one of the largest school districts in the state. But affluent parents often flock to its southern neighbor, St. Johns County, which is home to Florida's highest-scoring school district.
Fischer wanted to make Duval a more attractive option. But to do that, he would have to work against the grain.
“I am proud to be part of the movement to empower parents and raise student achievement,” he said.
Fischer served four years on the Duval County School Board until 2016, when he ran for the state House. Colleagues and others who worked with Fischer say he helped pave the way for more school choice options.
Indeed, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, an education reform nonprofit in Duval County, published a report in 2014 on the growth of school choice options. The report found that in 2009 there were nine charter schools in Duval County. By the 2014-15 school year, there were 34. A big batch of those was approved in December 2012, right after Fischer took office. (more…)
A Florida House Education panel advanced legislation Tuesday that would allow children in jeopardy of not grasping performance standards in the state’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program to re-enroll for an additional year.
The VPK program was established in 2004 and is available to 4-year-olds. It remains one of the state’s most widely used and broadly popular educational choice programs, serving nearly 160,000 students.
Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, who sponsors HB 951, clarified that the bill does not require parents to retain students in Pre-K if assessments suggest they might not be ready for kindergarten. It just gives them the option. (more…)
The Florida House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee this morning unanimously approved an allocation of $2 million to fund security at Jewish day schools.
Last year, legislators approved $654,491 in funding for Jewish day schools in Florida after a rash of anti-Semitic threats throughout the country. The concept has since received public backing from Gov. Rick Scott, who requested $1 million.
“Sadly, there has been a rise of anti-Semitic viewpoints,” Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville and a co-sponsor of HB 2791, told RedefinED. “There have been bomb threats. There have been spray-painted swastikas and other threatening things toward them, and we have to stand up and fight for the people in our community.”
The allocation would fund the hardening of building and equipment upgrades, fences, video access, ballistic glass, alarms and communication systems at 46 Jewish day schools around the state. (more…)
Net neutrality and schools: Critics of the federal government's rule to end net neutrality say teachers and students could be adversely affected. The new rules would allow Internet providers to charge more, and to give priority and bandwidth to people paying a premium and to streaming video services that are owned by those companies. That could put educational users in a cue waiting for service. Some critics also worry that some companies could suppress or de-emphasize certain viewpoints. Telecommunications company officials say those worries are overstated. The 74.
School board term limits: There's already a proposed constitutional amendment creating school board term limits that is working its way through the Constitution Revision Commission. Now, a Florida lawmaker has filed a bill that would also set term limits of two four-year terms for members and would have to be approved by voters. The bill was filed by Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, and it's identical to a bill filed in the Senate by Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota. The legislative session starts Jan. 9. News Service of Florida.
Schools of Hope rules: The proposed rules for potential Schools of Hope operators are now posted on the Florida Department of Education website. The biggest change allows the state to bypass the proposed benchmarks and instead use the attainment of one of three "measurable criteria" standards to name a company a "hope operator." Gradebook.
H.B. 7069 lawsuit: The Sarasota County School Board votes against joining other districts in a proposed lawsuit against the state over the new education law, H.B. 7069. Board member Bridget Ziegler proposed a motion to “suspend all consideration or further allocation of resources toward the support of any potential litigation challenging House Bill 7069,” which was adopted. She said the vote gave the district an “opportunity to send a message that we are above the political theater” of wasting “time, money, and intellectual capital” on legal fees. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Sunshine State News. Duval County School Board chairwoman Paula Wright says a proposed audit is unlikely to explain how the district overspent its budget by $21 million last year, and criticizes state Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, for requesting it. Fischer also condemned the board for considering joining a lawsuit against the new state education law. Wright's reply: “We are not going to be pushed or bullied … to do things quickly for the benefit of others.” Florida Times-Union. A review of text messages details the last-minute fighting in the Legislature over H.B. 7069. Politico Florida.
Teacher evaluations: Florida school districts haven’t lived up to the “spirit” of the state’s 2011 teacher evaluation law, according to a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality. In most places, the report says, teachers can still get a larger pay bump for having a master’s degree than for receiving a “highly effective” evaluation. National Council on Teacher Quality.
Charter funding: The Broward County School Board agrees to share some of the property tax money it collects with the five-school charter system owned and operated by the city of Pembroke Pines. The city has been asking for money from the district since 2005. The board said its decision to share applies only to the Pembroke Pines schools and not schools owned and operated by charter companies. A new state law calls for districts to share local property taxes collected with charter schools, but Broward and several other districts say they will be filing a suit challenging the constitutionality of it. Sun Sentinel.
School budgets: The Hillsborough County School Board gives tentative approval to a $2.9 billion budget. Tampa Bay Times. The Bay County School Board tentatively approves a $376 million budget, an increase of $18 million over last year despite a slightly lower proposed millage rate. Panama City News Herald.
Paperless district: The Marion County School District is beginning to digitize all 9 million-plus of its paper records to gradually convert to a paperless organization. Sometime in 2018, the district expects to stop creating paper documents and begin electronic enrollment. The project will cost about $800,000 and will take several years. Ocala Star Banner.
Charter growth slows: While charter school enrollment in Florida continued to grow in the 2016-2017 school year, the growth rate continues to be well below what it was in the period between 2010 and 2014. Almost 287,000 students attended charter schools last year, up 6.2 percent over the 270,151 last year. Between 2010 and 2014, the growth rate averaged 13.7 percent a year. redefinED. In Hillsborough County, the percentage of students in charter schools has edged up to the state average of about 10 percent, with 11 new charter schools opening next month. Tampa Bay Times.
Searching students: The Citrus County School Board approves a policy to search every student at the Citrus County Renaissance Center every day. First, students will undergo a metal detector wand search for weapons. Then they'll empty their pockets, untuck their shirts and take off shoes. Finally, each student's arms, legs and feet will be checked for drugs or other contraband. The school enrolls students with behavior problems. Citrus County Chronicle.
H.B. 7069 lawsuit: Miami-Dade County School Board members instruct their attorney to draft a plan to join other districts in suing the state over the new education law, H.B. 7069. The suit would target several parts of the bill the district thinks are unconstitutional, such as forcing districts to share local tax money with charter schools while limiting boards' authority over those schools, and restricting how districts can spend federal dollars awarded to students in low-income schools. Five districts have committed to the proposed lawsuit: Broward, St. Lucie, Bay, Lee and Volusia counties. Miami Herald. The Manatee County School Board supports the move by several districts to sue the state over the new education law, but stopped short of setting aside any money for the effort. Board members say they will revisit the idea of pledging money once a suit is actually filed. Bradenton Herald.
District audit request: State Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, is calling on the state to audit the Duval County School District to find out how it spent $21 million more than it budgeted to last year. Fischer acknowledges that the call for an audit is motivated, at least in part, by the school board's consideration of joining a lawsuit against the new state education law, H.B. 7069. “I’m deeply concerned that the school district is taking their eye off the ball by considering frivolous lawsuits against the state rather than getting their financial house in order,” Fischer wrote to Sen. Debbie Mayfield, chairman of the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee. Florida Times-Union. Florida Politics. The Lee County School Board will consider this week whether to join the lawsuit against H.B. 7069. Several districts say they will join Broward and St. Lucie school districts in bringing a suit, or are considering it. Fort Myers News-Press.
School budgets: The Marion County School Board votes today on a proposed $534.7 million budget that hikes spending by $12.7 million over last year. About $7.8 million of that comes from state and federal spending, and the rest will be taken from reserves to help offset increased health-insurance premiums for employees. Ocala Star Banner. Brevard school officials say the tight state budget for education has put raises for teachers in jeopardy. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, says the state budget includes raises for teachers rated highly effective or effective, which are on top of potential payouts from the teachers bonuses program. "So teachers will make more money because of the budget that we passed," Fine says. "Brevard Public Schools doesn’t need to give them a raise to make that happen." Meanwhile, Superintendent Desmond Blackburn gets a raise of $10,500. Florida Today.
Schools of hope: Three schools in north Florida could be home to the first "schools of hope" under the new education law, but 37 other schools that have struggled for three or more years also could qualify in the 2018-2019 school year. Under the plan, the state can offer financial incentives to recruit charter school companies into areas that have persistently low-performing schools. redefinED. The Sarasota County School District is taking a closer look at the Suncoast School for Innovative Studies, the only Title I charter school in the county. It received a D grade from the state. “... Why did (Title 1 elementary school) Emma E. Booker get a B and you got a D when you’ve got the same demographics?” asks board member Eric Robinson. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (more…)
Secret budget meeting? A Democratic legislator says six senators hashed out a deal on the K-12 education budget last week in secret in a separate room at the back of the Senate chambers. Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, disclosed the meeting while speaking at a meeting of Democrats on Monday. Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, disputed Braynon's account, saying no such meeting took place. Miami Herald. The Palm Beach County School Board website urges parents to lobby Gov. Rick Scott to veto the state budget. Palm Beach Post. Bay County School District officials say they'll have to eliminate eight programs if the education bill becomes law. Panama City News Herald. St. Johns County school officials say they'll lose $1 million under the education bill. St. Augustine Record. Hillsborough County School Superintendent Jeff Eakins says the state budget could force the district to initiate a hiring freeze. Tampa Bay Times. State Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, a sponsor of the education bill, defends it in an interview. WJAX.
Charter schools: Charter school advocates are celebrating the education bill passed by the Legislature. Naples Daily News. Chris Moya, a lobbyist for a charter school company, calls the education bill a victory for students, but thinks it will end up in court. WFSU.
Teacher honored: Vanessa Ko, a math teacher at Palm Harbor Middle School in Pinellas County, is named one of five finalists for the 2018 Florida teacher of the year award by the Department of Education. Ko was awarded $5,000. The winner will be announced July 13. Gradebook. (more…)
